Abel Ferrara hasn't made a great film in quite some time, but all signs point to this being a return to form for the director. The presence of the always-reliable Willem Dafoe certainly doesn't hurt.

Movie Grade: B+

DVD Grade: B

If you knew the world was going to end at a specific time on a specific day, what would you do
during your last 24 hours of existence? Such a question has been posed in more films recently than ever, given the
world’s many current problems, and countless predictions of the actual, imminent, end of days. The same question
is at the heart of the new film, 4:44 Last Day On Earth, a little-known film that is the latest writing and directing
effort by Abel Ferrara, best known for showing us “all” of Harvey Keitel in 1992’s Bad Lieutenant, and being
responsible for one of Christopher Walken’s best performances in 1990’s King of New York. Despite receiving
only a miniscule theatrical release earlier this year, 4:44 is considered by at least a handful of critics to be one of the
best films of 2012, so far, and now, thanks to IFC’s Blu-ray disc, we can all, now, stack it up against the rest of
what this year has brought us to date.

The Earth’s ozone layer has been deteriorating for years, but now, on the verge of disintegrating completely, the
literal end of the world is upon us. More specifically, in 14 hours and 44 minutes, at 4:44 AM, the ozone layer will
be gone and the planet will be covered in flames brought about by the sun’s deadly heat rays. After all of these
years, and massive skepticism, it turns out that Al Gore was right, and now, the inhabitants of Earth must decide
what to do with their final hours of existence, while at the same time, trying to cope on an emotional and existential
level. Two such people are apartment-dwellers Cisco (Willem Dafoe) and his much younger lover, Skye (Shanyn
Leigh), he an actor overcoming a drug problem, and she, a Picasso-esque painter. They spend their final hours
loving, fighting, painting, and fighting off old temptations, but as the clock inevitably ticks towards 4:44, they have
far more important choices to make than they could have imagined.

Some might want to see a bit more things, well, happen, during the final days of Earth’s existence, but Ferrara takes
a slow, moody, thought-provoking approach with 4:44 Last Day On Earth. He could have easily chosen to take
an over-the-top, dramatic look at how people would react to our planet’s imminent doom, but in studying Cisco
and Skye on an intimate, existential level, he allows the audience a better means of relating to them. We’re also
able to put ourselves in their shoes and argue about what we would have done differently in such a predicament.
There are bound to be comparisons made to Lars Von Trier’s similarly-themed, and superior end-of-days epic,
Melancholia, but Ferrara’s film is vastly different in its overall treatment of such a subject. Again, the cast and
overall execution of Von Trier’s film takes it to another level, but 4:44 is a fresh, enthralling study in the human
psyche and how it reacts to such a cataclysmic event.

As is usually the case with anything that Willem Dafoe is involved with these days, the artistic success of 4:44
hinders quite a bit on the effectiveness of his performance. Fortunately, Dafoe is excellent here, and, while Cisco
isn’t a huge stretch from other cool, down-trodden characters he’s played in the past, he’s just as unforgettable.
Leigh’s work as Skye is a different story, as this is only her fifth feature film, and she’s certainly still rough around
the edges, to say the least. She does a fine job portraying an aloof artist who, at times seems oblivious to the
inevitability of the situation, but it’s also tough to tell if this aloofness is a result of Leigh’s acting inexperience or an
actual strong performance. It might be unfair to mention that Leigh is Abel Ferrara’s girlfriend, but this wouldn’t be
the first case of a director/lead actor relationship situation. Still, this is Dafoe’s film to steer and his fine work keeps
the film at a high level throughout.

IFC’s Blu-ray disc is impressive, yet never game-changing, boasting a nice, 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, 1080p
video presentation. Abel Ferrara shot the film using the Red One MX camera, and images are always richly
detailed, with brilliant colors and accurate flesh tones as highlights of the transfer. Where the transfer stumbles is in
its handling of the visual effects, which look quite unnatural, and, for lack of a better word, cheap. The audio is a
lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix (there’s a Linear PCM 2.0 option also) that does more with this dialogue-
driven film than expected. Said dialogue is always crystal clear and well-integrated into the rest of mix, but the
surprise lies in the liberal use of the surrounds during some of the more surreal sequences. Unfortunately, the only
extra is the trailer for 4:44 Last Day On Earth.